The highly cultivated farms, the good houses, the many pikes and other improvements in this township speak favorably of the thrift and enterprise of its citizens and the character of its agriculture.

Of the early settlers in this section of the county may be mentioned the names of John NELSON, John BEATTY, David WILLIAMSON, Ephraim BAKER, Thomas HUNT, John MORROW, Duran WHITTLESEY, Thomas KYLE, David GRIFFIS, Cornelius MURPHY, the ELLIOTTs, HUGHESes, VOORHEESes, LOWERYs, KAINs, HOWARDs, and others.

The principal towns are Princeton, Bethany, Jericho, and Huntsville; none having attained much size, nor being in importance what they were years ago.

When all was a wilderness, and before any of the sturdy oaks had been felled, John NELSON moved into the township, and cleared the first farm. This was where Jasper ROSE lives now, and prior to 1796. John BEATTY came in 1797, and found him snugly fixed in his pole cabin. He had come with his father David BEATTY to Port Union, in 1795. The father died soon after this event, a very old man, and was buried at Tylersville, the second burial in the township. A child of MCMAHON's was buried here prior to that time, and was the first event of that kind. John BEATTY had two sons, John R. and James, and one daughter, afterwards Mrs. STEWART. John R. BEATTY married Miss Nancy STEWART, and raised a family of seven children, all of whom are dead now but Mrs. 'Squire MCLEAN.

Mr. John BEATTY settled just above where Bethany is now, and his house was probably the second in the township. He subsequently started the "Beatty Tavern, " which was also the first house of that kind in the township. This tavern was carrried on for a long period of time; first before his death by Mr. BEATTY himself, then by his widow, and subsequently by his son, John R. BEATTY. David WILLIAMSON next came to this part of the township and settled on a farm adjoining that of John BEATTY, building his house where 'Squire MCLEAN's house stands. This was in 1798, and was the first house built in what was afterwards Bethany. His brother, Peter WILLIAMSON, had come just previous to this time, and settled in the north-east part of the township. Peter and David VOORHEES came this year also, but settled in Huntsville. William LOWERY came prior to 1800. His brother, Samuel LOWERY, dug the grave for John BEATTY in 1816.

The first marriage in the township occurred Dec 15, 1798. The parties contracting were Miss Mary
HOWARD, of NJ, and Samuel KAIN. Mr. KAIN bought land just above Bethany, wher Drake now lives.

John MORROW was settled on land now owned by David SWEARINGEN, before 1803. His brother,
Jeremiah MORROW, was governor of OH. John MORROW was the first justice of the peace in Liberty
Twp and served in that capacity for 18 years. He was followed by "Squire MCLEAN, who held the office
24 years, and following him was Silas WILLIAMSON, who is, and has been, 'squire for 15 yrs. Each of
these 3 men have been peace-makers in the strict sense of that term.

Silas WILLIAMSON's
grandfather, David WILLIAMSON, married Mary VANDYKE in 1787, emigrated from PA to KY in Jun
1797, and from KY to OH, settling on Section 14, of this Twp, in 1798. He had 4 sons: George, b 1788;
John, father of Silas, b 1790; David V., b 1795, and Peter, b 1801. 'Squire WILLIAMSON has also been
twp clerk, elected in 1865, and held the office many years. He was married to Christiana WHITE in 1843.

John MCLEAN was b in 1810. In 1843 he married Miss Sarah CLAYTON. She died in 1847. In 1850
he married Miss Mary Ann BEATTY, daughter of John R. BEATTY.

Bethany was laid off into lots,
four by eight rods, in 1822, by Samuel LOWERY. Five of these lots were surveyed by Nesbit, and were on
the east side of the street. A man by the name of CRAWFORD built a house just opposite where 'Squire
MCLEAN lives now, and kept a grocery; it was a small affair at first, there not being ten dollars' worth of
goods in his house. The first blacksmith's shop was in the woods at that time, and just opposite where Mr.
LEGG now lives. It was kept by Mr. BUSBY. He was followed by Mr. GARRETT, and he in turn by
Peter C. DILLEY. This was before 1822.

John MCLEAN, of Bethany, is descended from the
MCLEANs of Scotland. After the rebellion of 1715, a portion of that clan emigrated to Ireland, and after
a considerable sojourn, to America. They settled in York, now Adams County, in PA. The MCLEAN
who was the ancestor of John MCLEAN, of Bethany, had seven sons, all surveyors. Their names were
Archibald, Moses, William, Samuel, John, James, and Alexander. Each and all of them took an active
part in our Revolutionary struggle. Archibald and Moses were both members of the PA Legislature, and
Moses was also a captain in the Eleventh Regiment of the PA line. Samuel MCLEAN, the grandfather of
John MCLEAN, of Bethany, moved to Fayette County, PA, and left two sons, William and John. The
latter remained in Fayette County, while the former removed to Butler County, in 1808. He was a farmer,
and had six sons and three daughters. His sons were Samuel, b Dec 24, 1799; Elisha P., b Mar 3, 1802;
Stephen, Jan 7, 1804; William, Dec 21, 1805; elizabeth, Sep 25, 1807, the widow of William GOUDY;
John, b Feb 13, 1810; James, b Sep 25, 1811; Sophia, b Dec 8, 1813; and Sarah Ann, Apr 13, 1816.
Samuel, Elisha P., Stephen, William, James, and Sophia are dead.

Mr. MCLEAN came to Butler
County in 1808, and settled on Seven-Mile, Wayne Twp, where he purchased a hundred acres of land. He
came down the Ohio River in a flat-boat. He traded his farm in PA for castings and sold them in
Cincinnati, and with their proceeds purchased here. He died in Union Twp, Sep 12, 1824, and his wife
died Sep 27, 1834, in Springfield Twp, Hamilton County. His son, John MCLEAN, was born Feb 13,
1810, in Wayne Twp, and married first, Jan 3, 1843, Sarah R. CLAYTON, b in Liberty May 5, 1813, and
died Sep 19, 1847. They had son child, Anna Isabella, b Nov 3, 1844. She died Jun 3, 1846. He married
second, Nov 20, 1850, Mary Ann BEATTY, daughter of John R. BEATTY and Nancy(STEWART)
BEATTY. SHe was born in Liberty, Dec 29, 1814. By her he had three children, one being now alive,
Lewis. He was born Oct 18, 1852, and is married. John A., b Jan 7, 1855, died an infant; and William
C., b Mar 6, 1860, died Aug 5, 1881.

Mr. MCLEAN is one of the most prominent citizens of Liberty
Twp. He has held several twp positions, and, in fact, has always held some twp office. He was appointed
assistant revenue assessor in 1865, an office he has held two terms; has been justice of the peace for eight
terms, omitting one term, or a total of 24 years, from 1836 till 1864. He was also postmaster at
Huntsville, and is at present notary public, serving his sixth term. He has acted from 1864 till the present
time without interruption. He is a Mason and Odd Fellow both, but of late years has not attended. He
held the office of recording secretary in the Odd Fellows. His uncle, Colonel Alexander MCLEAN, was
out in the Revolutionary War, being a colonel of frontier rangers. He also served in MCINTOSH's
campaing of 1780. He was also one of the surveyors engaged with MASON and DIXON in running the
division line between PA, VA, and MD, in 1766 and 1767, and in 1782 and 1783 he, in connection with
Joseph NEVILLE, carried out the southern boundary from where MASON and DIXON stopped at the
Indian warpath.

Mr. Samuel KAIN carried on wagon-making for many years, beginning as early as
1823 or 1824. We read of the KAIN wagons receiving the first premiums in the Butler County
Agricultural Society. On Oct 13, 1836, Mr. KAIN received three dollars premium on the best wagon manufactured. The shop was afterwards turned into a buggy and carriage factory for the manufacturing of
the Kain harrows.

The first brick house in Bethany was built by Peter WILLIAMSON, in 1839. It
stood near where the Presbyterian Church now is. The next brick structure
was the first brick house erected for David LEE, in 1841, in Jericho. The
brick was burned and the building erected by 'Squire McLEAN. 'Squire McLEAN
carried on brickmaking for a period of five years, and during that time
burned a million of brick. He became the proprietor of the first saw-mill in
Jericho, in 1850, and conducted it for 8 years. He sold the mill to Benjamin
BOYD, who finally transferred it to other parties, and it was by them taken
down and removed to Lebanon.

The BEATTY Tavern was the principal stopping-place for travelers, but there
were other houses, also, subsequently. Mr. WILLIAMSON had a good tavern for
many years, as also did Robert CARTER. The amount of travel was enormous.
Old residents say that it was not uncommon to see four and six horse teams,
a dozen at a time, stopping over night in this place. Houses of
entertainment were along the highways every few miles, and necessarily so,
to accommodate the traveling public. As soon as the railroads sprang up the
hotels went down.

The mail was carried, prior to 1834, by Dr. STEPHENS, on horseback, from
Brookville to Lebanon. Abner ROSS had the contract also, and sometimes went
with his oxen, making the round-trip in one week. He went by the way of
Lasourdsville and Hamilton, to Brookville, IN, and would return by the way
of Hamilton, Princeton, and Huntsville to Lebanon. Dr. STEPHENS had the
office up to 1834, 'Squire McLEAN to 1841, at which time it was moved to
Bethany. Peter WILLIAMSON then took it and kept it a long time.

The Methodist people of this place formerly worshiped at private houses, and
frequently met at the BEATTY Tavern, where they were always welcomed. The
Rev. Samuel PARKER was presiding elder when the popular and youthful Rev.
John STRANGE served as their first minister, in 1809. The first Methodist
Episcopal Church building was a frame, erected in 1849, and is standing yet,
doing duty as a town hall. The present brick was erected in 1876. The
Bethany people attended the Huntsville Methodist Episcopal Church from 1817
up to 1849, at which time this Church was removed to Bethany. The Cumberland
Presbyterians built here in 1875. The society has forty members.

HUNTSVILLE

Among the early settlers of this vicinity were
the HUNTS, VOORHEESes, Wm. ELLIOTT, ELijah HUGHES, John HARDEN,
John HOLDEN, John MALALLY, Charles LEGG, and others. The place was
named from Thomas HUNT, who died Jun 25, 1814, aged 68 years, 9 mos,
and 28 days. He came here prior to 1800. His wife, Anna Hunt, lies by his
side in the old private grave-yard. Duran WHITTLESEY and his wife, Ruth,
also lie in this yard; he was buried Sep 26, 1823, and was 48 years old.
She died Sep 24, 1855, at 75 years of age.

Prominent among the early
events of this place was the building of the Spring meeting-house, the first
Methodist Church in the county. The ELLIOTTs especially were greatly
interested in this work. The Rev. Arthur ELLIOTT, the pioneer Methodist
preacher, took the matter in hand, and his brother, Joshua ELLIOTT, gave
the ground for both the building and the grave-yard.

The country was
then under heavy timber, and when a daughter of Charles LEGG died in
1816, the trees and brush had to be cut away to make room for the digging
of a grave. She was the first person buried in that yard. The next year the
hewed log-house owned by Joshua ELLIOTT, a half mile distant, was moved
bodily through the woods to the allotted place, and was known as the
Spring meeting-house. The building stood some twelve years, when a brick
Church was built. This last Church building was used as such until 1849,
when the society moved to Bethany, since which time there has been no
Church in the place.

Mr. Charles LEGG was the first class-leader in this
Church; he came from Washington County, PA, in 1805, and settled first
between Huntsville and Bethany. The Rev. John WATERMAN was the first
preacher. Samuel WEST, Mr. GODDARD, and Mr. MATTHEWS were also
early missionaries in this field.

The New Lights were numerous in this
place at this time, and had a building of their own where the old grave-yard
is now. It was made of brick, and erected about 1831 or 1832. Ira HUNT
at that time burned brick, and had the first brick-yard in thw twp. He and
his sister, Phoebe, were leading spirits of the Church. The Rev. Mr.
SIMONTON was one of their principal pioneer preachers, and the Church
society was very large. It was not then thought far for the beaux and their
girls to walk two or three miles to attend one of those night meetings, and
usually a large congregation would assemble. Nor was it an unusual thing
to have a noisy time of it. The sight of a hundred new converts, clapping
hands, shouting, singing, praying, yelling, confusing noise itself with
deafening cries, was not uncommon, and was often witnessed there.

Ira
HUNT moved West, finally, and the church gradually went down. He did
much for the town with his brick-yard and mill. Nicholas CURTIS had a
distillery in the place, and Joseph CURTIS the pioneer store. This house
was just opposite where Alexander DYKES now keeps one. Zebedee
AKERS has been a blacksmith in this town for 40 years or more. The
VOORHEESes were settlers here prior to 1800, and this is where Daniel VOORHEES, of IN, was born.

Daniel W. VOORHEES, of Terre Haute, IN, and Senator from that
State, was born in Liberty Twp, not far from the old Spring meeting-house,
Sep 26, 1827, and was only two months old when his parents removed to
Fountain County, IN, where they now reside. His father, Stephen
VOORHEES, was born in Mercer County, KY, 1798, and emigrated when
quite young to Butler County, and in Dec, 1827, moved to the farm in
Fountain County, IN, which he now occupies. His grandfather, Peter
VOORHEES, was born in New Jersey, and soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, emigrated to Kentucky. Peter VOORHEES's wife, whose maiden name was VAN ARSDALE, was born at
Brant's Station, then a fort. Her father, Luke VAN ARSDALE, fought at the
battle of Blue Licks, and distinguished himself there and elsewhere against
the Indians under Daniel BOONE. His other grandfather, Stephen
VOORHEES, was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and fought at
Princeton, Monmouth, and other celebrated historic fields. His paternal
ancestors came from Holland, the original name being VAN VOORHEES.
Mr. VOORHEES's mother, Rachel ELLIOTT, born in MD, of Irish ancestry,
was married, in 1821, and still survives. Daniel W. is the third, and was
brought up on a farm about ten miles from Covington, IN, remaining there
until 1845. In 1845 he entered Asbury University, whence he graduated in
1849.

Soon after graduating he entered the law office of Lane & Willson,
at Crawfordsville, and the following Spring settled to practice at Covington,
the county seat of Fountain County. Here E. A. HANNEGAN, formerly
United States Senator, having heard him deliver a "Fourth of July" oration,
made proposals for a law partnership, taking effect in Apr, 1852. In June,
1853, Mr. VOORHEES was appointed by Governor WRIGHT prosecuting
attorney of the Circuit Court, in which position he soon established a fine
reputation as a criminal lawyer, and broke up a nest of desperadoes whose
headquearters were at Lafayette. In 1856 he was nominated by
acclamation Democratic candidate for Congress, but was defeated by 230
majority in a district previously Republican by 2,600. In Nov, 1857, he
removed to Terre Haute, the county seat of Vigo County, and the ensuing
April, 1858, was appointed United states District Attorney for the State of
Indiana, by President BUCHANAN, in which position he increased his
reputation as an orator and lawyer. He was elected to Congress in 1860
and 1862, and in 1864 was again a successful candidate, but in this last
election his majority was contested by his opponent, Henry D.
WASHBURNE, who obtained the seat. In 1866 Mr. VOORHEES refused the
nomination, but in 1868 he was elected, and again in 1870. In 1872 he
was defeated by Morton C. HUNTER.

As a precursor of the late war the insurrection at Harper's Ferry, VA,
in which John BROWN and others were concerned, and for which they
were convicted and hung in 1859, will
always stand prominent in the history of the country. At that time the
gifted A. P. WILLARD was governor of Indian, and the champion of the
Indiana Democracy, and it was with sorrow and dismay that his friends
learned that Colonel J. E. COOK, arrested with "Ossawatomie BROWN,"
was a brother of Governor WILLARD's wife. Governor WILLARD was not
the man to turn his back upon a brother or a friend. His first thought was of
"Dan VOORHEES," who was then at Vincennes arguing a case before Judge
Micael F. BURKE. Governor WILLARD sent a message to Vincennes, and
Judge BURKE continued the case while Mr. VOORHEES immediately started
to consult with Governor WILLARD. Several gentlemen advised him not to
undertake the defense, but he emphatically declared his resolution to defend
his friend's brother regardless of consequences. He went and took part in
that celebrated trial. The result is known. John BROWN was convicted of
murder and treason, but Mr. VOORHEES succeeded in having a Virginia jury
convict COOK of murder only, thus bringing him within the pardoning power
of the governor. Governor WISE, however, refused to pardon, and COOK
was executed with the others. This was, however, the beginning of Mr.
VOORHEES's national reputation. His speech was listened to by the vast
audience with rapt attention, and met with unequealed approbation. He
was the recipient of enthusiastic congratulations, and his speech was
published all over the country and in Europe. From this time forward he has
occupied a conspicuous place in the eyes of the public. At the bar, on the stump, and in the halls of Congress,
he has been a man of mark. Mr. VOORHEES's political career and principles,
his powers as a parliamentary orator and a statesman, are now a portion of
the history of the nation.

From the sobriquet of "the tall Sycamore of the Wabash," so often and
familiarly applied to Mr. VOORHEES, it will be inferred that he is of tall
stature. He stands 6 ft and 1inch in height, and weighs over 200 pounds.

In 1850 he married Miss Anna HARDESTY, of Greencastle, IN, and they have 4
children.

Mr. VOORHEES was appointed Nov 6, 1877, to succeed Governor MORTON in the
United States Senate. The issue in the election of 1878 in Indiana was
whether he should be elected by the Legislature to succeed his appointment.
On this issue the Legislature pledged to his support was elected by a
majority of over 30,000 over all opposition. During his term of service in
the Senate he has been assiduous in his attentions to the public needs. He
is always present, and allows no measure of political opponents to pass
without the severest scrutiny. With him vigilance is the price of liberty.
He has recently shown his power of breaking old shackles by speaking for
protection to American industry.